Article 6.8

Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement recognises the importance of non-market approaches (NMAs) to assist Parties in implementing their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), in the context of sustainable development and poverty eradication. It sits alongside the market-based mechanisms in Article 6.2 (cooperative approaches using internationally transferred mitigation outcomes) and Article 6.4 (a centralised crediting mechanism), but is conceptually distinct: NMAs do not involve the trading or transfer of emission units.

The provision was championed primarily by Bolivia and other members of the Like-Minded Developing Countries grouping, which had long argued that climate cooperation should not be reduced to carbon markets. Article 6.8 instead promotes integrated, holistic and balanced approaches that may include cooperation on mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer and capacity-building.

The operational rules — the Glasgow work programme on non-market approaches — were adopted at COP26 in 2021 under decision 4/CMA.3. The work programme runs in two phases and is overseen by a Glasgow Committee on Non-Market Approaches, which meets twice a year and reports to the CMA (the Paris Agreement's governing body). The committee identifies, develops and recommends NMAs, and operates a web-based NMA platform hosted by the UNFCCC secretariat to record and match opportunities with Parties.

Examples of activities that may qualify as NMAs include policy coordination on carbon pricing, joint adaptation programmes, fiscal measures, resilience-building initiatives, and ecosystem-based approaches such as the Joint Mitigation and Adaptation Mechanism for forests advocated by Bolivia.

Critics note that Article 6.8 remains underdeveloped compared with its market-based siblings, with limited dedicated finance and unclear additionality. Supporters counter that it preserves space for cooperation that does not commodify the atmosphere and aligns with rights-based and equity-focused climate policy.